THE Commission on Audit is pressing the John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC) to remit P16.9 million due the national government as required under RA No. 7656 or the Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC) Dividend Law.
Government auditors said the JHMC posted net earnings of P33.794 million in 2018 hence P16.897 million or 50 percent should have been remitted to the Bureau of Treasury.
“JHMC did not declare and remit to the national government cash dividends of P16,896,842 from net earnings in 2018 in violation of RA 7656,” the COA said.
The audit team noted that as of December 31, 2019, the JHMC had excess cash of P115.5 million hence there was no way the remittance of the government’s legal share would have impaired the viability of the corporation.
It also noted that the Bases Conversation and Development Authority (BCDA) funds 100 percent of JHMC’s corporate operating budget each year, not counting the income generated from the corporation’s operations.
The JHMC management appealed to the COA to allow the Department of Finance to resolve its request for the adjustment of its dividend rate invoking the clause under Section 5 of RA 7656.
At the same time, it informed the Commission that it has requested for an opinion from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel whether or not JHMC is still required by law to declare dividends even if it has negative retained earnings.
